Adding more Buffalo crime camera sites get more study
Council members question new list of 51 chosen by police
Hoping to win Common Council support to expand Buffalo’s anticrime camera program, Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson has released a list of 51 new locations where surveillance devices would be installed.
The locations include busy intersections in the Chippewa entertainment district, and on streets in North Buffalo, South Buffalo and the East and West sides. But lawmakers decided Tuesday to send the proposal back to committee.
“There are still too many questions,” said Finance Committee Chairman Michael P. Kearns, who noted that lawmakers received the list a short time before the meeting.
Kearns, who represents the South District and is a mayoral candidate, said that there have been complaints that some streets are being left out of the multimillion-dollar project. Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera, a retired Buffalo police officer, echoed similar concerns. He said one glaring example is the corner of Herkimer and West Ferry streets. Rivera said a man was shot and seriously wounded Monday night on Herkimer.
“Residents in that neighborhood have been crying out for a camera for a long time,” Rivera said. “It’s still not on the list.”
Gipson said camera locations have been selected based on crime statistics, homeland security issues, the availability of power and the presence of a “clear line of sight.” The latter factor has made it imprudent to install devices at intersections in some neighborhoods.
“Placing a camera in an area that has a dense tree canopy inhibits the view from the camera, thereby severely limiting its usefulness,” Gipson told lawmakers in a written response.
The city installed 70 cameras in the first phase of the initiative. Mayor Byron W. Brown wants the Council to approve the next phase at a cost of $2.2 million to $3.7 million, depending on which high-tech options are chosen. One option would include sensors that recognize the sound of gunshots. Cameras would zoom in the direction of the sounds. Adding “shot-spotter” technology to some surveillance devices would cost about $438,000 with maintenance costs.
The recommended sites for new cameras include intersections ranging from Chippewa and Washington streets downtown, to Elmwood Avenue and Amherst Street in North Buffalo, Jefferson and Northland avenues on the East Side, and Seneca Street and Mineral Springs Road in South Buffalo.
State and federal grants would pay for the project.
In other action, the Council unanimously imposed a six-month moratorium on new permits that allow the crushing of concrete outdoors.
Sponsor Richard A. Fontana of Lovejoy said lawmakers will use the time to prepare new regulations aimed at more stringently regulating the location of such operations.
Fontana said that when concrete is crushed, dust that contains potentially harmful elements can spread into surrounding neighborhoods. The resolution would not limit activities at concrete-crushing sites that already have permits, officials said.
Following are locations where the Buffalo Police Department proposes adding the second phase of surveillance cameras:
Delaware/Tacoma
Hertel/Fairchild
Main/LaSalle
Main/West Oakwood
Delaware/Great Arrow
Amherst/Parkside
Delaware Tower (Delaware Park)
West Utica/Richmond
City Hall (Niagara Square)
Chippewa/Franklin
Chippewa/Washington
Maryland/Cottage
Dodge/Wohlers
Erie Basin Lighthouse (covering western end of marina/waterfront area)
Erie Basin Marina (covering eastern end of marina, high density public area)
Sycamore/Jefferson
Louisiana/South Park
William/Fillmore
Commercial Slip/Central Wharf Boardwalk
HSBC Arena/Foot of Perry Street (also covering eastern end of Central Wharf)
Burgard/Hazel
Genesee/Crossman
Walden/Sumner
Bailey/East Delavan
East Delavan/Harriet
East Delavan/Wyoming
Jefferson/Northland
Allen/Pearl
Elmwood/North
Delaware/Allen
Niagara/Porter
Massachusetts/14th (five corners)
Esser/Malsch
Grant/Letchworth
Elmwood/Amherst
2058 Elmwood
Albright Knox Art Gallery
Esser/Tonawanda
Seneca/Mineral Springs
South Park/Ladner
Hopkins/Pembina
South Park/Tifft
400 Fuhrmann Boulevard
1200 Fuhrmann Boulevard
Minnesota/Suffolk
Kensington/Bailey
Kensington/Eggert
Main/Englewood
Bailey/Berwyn
Olympic/Alma
Kensington/Olympic
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